L0101P9 - Introduction to Ethics and Biomedical Ethics
Ethics and Morality Ethics *ethos *a set of principles that guide our actions Morale *mos *associated with moral codes *begins with the question of what one ought to do **how should we live? **what is valuable in life? **how this value affects life? *finding what reasons there are for making one choice rather than another, for living one way rather than another History of Ethics “Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice” - Hippocrates World Medical Association *Declaration of Geneva - Physician’s Oath **consecrate life to service of humanity **health of patient is first consideration **age, disease, disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing cannot intervene duty to patient *2006 -most recent amendment 1960s *paternalism was favoured *sacred trust between physician and patient *no need for external regulation *this has changed with the development of new medical technologies and treatments Definition of Death *previously - loss of circulatory activity and loss of a heartbeat in the body *newly added term - brain-dead *balance between: **purely biological terms - irreversible cessation of organic functioning **in patient-centred terms, i.e. the cessation of the existence of a person due to an irreversible loss of consciousness, or of the capacity for personhood Ethics Training *allows you to become a “good” doctor *provides an opportunity to develop your own ethical reasoning skills You should feel the weight of any decision made for a patient. Nature of Ethics Intrinsic Values *worthwhile for its own sake *e.g.: happiness Extrinsic Values *value is determined by what they enable us to do *combined to justify each and every one of our decisions and actions *e.g.: lying **truth is intrinsically valuable **the lie may be extrinsically more valuable *actions can be judge right or wrong depending on a balance of the consequences and intrinsic value *moral dilemmas force us to decide between the lesser of two evils, or the greater of two goods Causes of Ethical Disagreements *value judgments across cultures *e.g. female circumcision Types of Ethical Theory *consequentialism *rights-based ethical theories *virtue ethics Consequentialism *utilitarianism **greatest good for the greatest number *judged solely according to their consequences *goal of morality it to create the best possible world *the right act is always the one that has the best overall consequences *maximising pleasure, minimising pain *no act or state of affairs i.e. ever intrinsically good or bad, it is rather the consequences of the state of affairs that make it good or bad Rights-Based Ethical Theory *non-consequentialism *respects the importance of justice or fairness unlike consequentialism *some things are always wrong irrespective of the consequences *adult human beings have normal capabilities such as rationality and autonomy possess rights *but do human beings with thought those capabilities (foetuses, newborns, severely demented, unconsciousness) have the right? Virtue Ethics *places an emphasis on what people should be like rather than what they should do *focus is therefore on character traits or dispositions rather than actions (unlike consequentialism/rights-based)